Global technological trends in sustainable antimicrobial surface formulations: a patent-based review for cleaner healthcare environments
Luana Conte Nunes, Stéfanno Souza Santos, Luana Rossato, Izabel Almeida Alves, Edith Cristina Laignier Cazedey · 2026
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Description
Luana Conte Nunes and co-authors mapped thirty years of patents for antimicrobial surface coatings, asking whether the innovation keeps pace with safety proof. Their patent review appeared in Future Science OA in 2026. Healthcare infections, worsened by drug-resistant germs, drive the market for self-disinfecting surfaces. Searching the Espacenet database under PRISMA rules, the team analyzed forty-nine patents filed between 1995 and 2024.
Filing surged after 2015, led by private companies, concentrated in the United States, Canada, and China. Synthetic chemicals, above all quaternary ammonium compounds, dominate the formulations, with natural and hybrid approaches in the minority. The gap the authors stress is validation: while many patents claim green credentials, fewer than half disclose how the coating works, and only about a third report toxicology data. Their call is for life-cycle assessment and tougher safety testing before these surfaces scale.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Luana Conte Nunes, Stéfanno Souza Santos, Luana Rossato, Izabel Almeida Alves, Edith Cristina Laignier Cazedey |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 44 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |